THE MYSTERIOUS WISE MEN

“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.” (Matthew 2:1)

       There are some people mentioned in Scripture about whom very little is known. The real intent of God’s Word is not to provide extensive biographies of important people. Rather, they are primarily a testimony of Jesus Christ (John 5:39). Therefore, people obtain significance to the degree they are related to Him. Such is the case with the “wise men.” We do not know their names, precisely where they were from, or how many of them came to Jerusalem. Many think there were three of them because they brought three gifts, but that is not what Scripture affirms. One writing, ascribed to Chrysostom, early church father, says there were fourteen. The truth of the matter is we do not know. Some translations read “magi” instead of “wise men.” NASB,NIV The word denotes a category of men that included magicians, astrologers, and philosophers. It is the same category of men described in Daniel 1:4. Daniel himself was made head over such an order of wise men (Dan 2:48). These men probably came from Persia. Some suppose they were kings, although the Scriptures do not say so. That view is based upon Psalm 72:10, which prophesied the “kings of Tarshish, the Isles, Sheba, and Seba” would offer gifts to the coming Messiah. Yet, with all of this supposition, these “wise men” remain mysterious.

       If these men came from Persia, the trip would have been nearly a thousand miles. As the text states, they came laden with gifts. It was an aggressive trip. These men had seen “His star” in the East, and came to worship the newborn King. Some have conjectured these “wise men” were offspring of Abraham, and knew the ancient prophecy, “there shall come a Star out of Jacob” (Num 24:17). The “star” did not lead them to Jerusalem, but apparently disappeared after they saw it, reappearing after they had consulted with Herod in Jerusalem (Matt 2:9). They came to Jerusalem because it was the center of Jewish life, and Jesus was “born King of the Jews” (Matt 2:2). The text indicates it took the wise men about two years to get to Jerusalem (Matt 2:16). After worshiping “the young child,” they were warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, but go to their own country “another way” (2:12). Among other things, these wise men confirm you do not have to receive a lot of knowledge to come to Jesus. They also show that sincere people will spare no effort to come to Christ. Such people will seek knowledge about how to reach Jesus, and give of their possessions to Him. They can also be easily directed. We can certainly learn a lot from these unknown men. Truly, they were “wise men.”